A Promise Between Friends
by Maiokoe
Summary: Another pirate crew and Crocus wonders what they'll bring to the world. With a party brewing and the music starting up, the old doctor is reminded of the past and the whale's captain of long ago.
A/N: One Piece does not belong to me, like, at-all. Thank you~!

* * *

Crocus looked over at the whale, the giant gazing out across the sea. He was awfully quiet lately, just staring out across the waters. He still had that ridiculous mark, bless him, that Straw Hat painted over two years ago. Still a horrible drawing, but such a symbol of hope.

Faint voices echoed over the mountain and the old doctor flipped his newspaper closed, rising slowly from his lawn chair. "Best get out of the way, Laboon," he suggested to the whale. A low, groaning wail was his response, but the whale complied just as a ship crested the peak, practically flying down the mountain. He heard the screams and the laughter, the cheers, and he found himself smiling. "Looks like we got ourselves another batch of younglings. Bah. Idiots, the lot of them, gallivanting around on these waters."

But he still remembered that tiny crew who made a name for themselves and gave Laboon such hope.

" _We made it! We made it to the Grand Line!"_ And the ship came hurtling down, Crocus watching as the crew members laughed, excited at the challenge, some of them a little green form the ride.

"Howdy, newcomers," Crocus called out, raising a hand. The ship dipped as it hit the flat waters, drifting out a bit before coming to a gentle stop. "How'd Reverse Mountain treat ya?" He saw the younglings peer over the rail, some on the other side staring up in horror at the hulking figure of Laboon, the whale towering over the ship.

"C-C-Captain!"

"Holy—! Gramps, y-ya got an interesting pet there!" Crocus grunted, settling back down in his chair. "H-hey, Gramps, you, uh, got any building materials? Ride was a little… bumpier than I thought it'd be?" Crocus flipped open his newspaper, but gazed up at the ship.

"Pull it around, got some stuff out behind the house," he waved towards the lighthouse. "I just ask ya share some of your food. Music, if any of you can play. Be a nice sound, out here. Laboon, don't frighten the boys now," the whale groaned and the pirates stiffened at the rumbling sound. "What did I _just_ say?" Some laughed nervously as they brought the ship about.

"Well, Gramps, sure we can share with ya. Ro here's just about the best cook around," the Captain looked all too young, but plenty hopeful, with scruffy red hair, his arm hooked around a taller young man with dark blue hair and glasses. "As for music, well, you're in luck! We just happened to have a musician with us!"

"Is that right… How fortunate." Crocus smiled lightly. Music would be a nice change for once, given the silence of the sea. "He any good for a brat?"

"I'll have you know he was one of them fancy educated types before he decided he'd rather roam the world for adventure!" The captain laughed, as did most of the crew, save for the young man silently tying lines, a white cowboy hat pulled low on his head.

"Then I look forward to the performance after dinner," Crocus hummed as a board was lowered and the crew members stepped off the ship and onto his little island.

"Best dinner you'll have for a while, gramps, I guarantee it! Pleasure to meetcha, name's Thorir!"

"Crocus' my name, lighthouse keeper here at Reverse Mountain. And this is Laboon." Thorir turned, staring up at the whale, whistling lowly. Some of his comrades skirted away as the towering giant moved closer. "Don't mind him. He's friendly enough."

"Is _that_ how he got all those scars then?" Thorir snickered.

"Those? Hmm… Well, he did travel around with a pirate crew for awhile. Went up against some Marines, way back in the day. But, mostly just testing himself against the mountain. Not much else to do 'round here," Crocus hummed, flipping closed his paper once more. Might as well talk to these young men. Who knew when he'd see them in the paper for something or another.

"Pirate crew, huh? First time I've ever met a pirating whale… Pleasure to meetcha, Laboon!"

Laboon, for his part, keened, low and long, the noise lowering and rising before trailing off.

"You _would_ make friends with a whale, Captain!" Some laughed. Crocus watched as the young man with the hat finally made his way off the ship.

"What pirate crew?" The question was quiet, but something about the man struck Crocus. Something familiar.

He pushed it away, settling more comfortably in his chair. "Way before your time, youngin. Lost out at sea near fifty years ago." Laboon made a low sound, obviously a little distraught at the remembrance of his old friends. "But enough about that, what seems to be the problem with you ship here, Thorir?"

* * *

"Bring on the booze!"

"Captain, you're already drunk!"

Thorir raised his mug high, laughing harder. "Then bring on the music!" Cheers and encouragement wafted form the rowdy crew and Crocus watched with a small smile as the cowboy pulled away, disappearing back to the ship, much to the joy of his friends. As they continued to party, toasting each other and themselves for their bravery, he reappeared, case in hand as he stole down the gangplank. "Great! You're back! Play something—something festive!"

"As you say. I got something in mind." There was a moment while the young man flipped open the locks and readied the violin. Crocus smiled a little softer now, remembering another pirate crew with a violinist. "Ready to party?"

"YEAH!" The cheers echoed and turned to laughter as the first notes played out.

Laboon keened at the familiar sound, lamenting the loss of his friends as his favorite song slid over the water, the cheers reminding him of the distant past, the song familiar and _painful_.

"That's Laboon's favorite song," Crocus commented over the sound of the strings and cheering, over the desolate sound of Laboon remembering the past.

"Yeah? Yorki's too!" Thorir was leaning heavily against their cook's side, the stoic young man holding him up steadily.

Crocus blinked. "…Yorki, you say?"

"Yeah! Yorki!" Thorir pointed towards their musician, the young man's face shadowed by a _familiar_ cowboy, his pants tucked into knee-high boots, a long jacket with its sleeves rolled up thrown over a loose white shirt. And if he wasn't mistaken, the man was blond. "One of those prissy types, til I talked him into coming out with me!"

"Hardly prissy," Ro scolded. "And it was Yorki who suggested it. You just followed along."

"I did not! Ro! I'm the Caaaptaiiiin!"

"You're a hassle, that's what you are," and Ro let go, their redheaded captain tumbling off the bench and lay groaning on the grass as the song came to its rousing end. "Splendid as always, thank you, Yorki."

"Always a pleasure," the young man tipped his hat back, a familiar grin on his lips, a bold line tattooed under his right eye, two shorter lines branching off from the bottom.

Crocus brought a fist up, pressing his hand hard against his lips. "That pirate crew Laboon was part of, so long ago," the whale keened again while the reincarnation of his captain looked over at Crocus. "They played that song all the time. Rumbar, they were called."

The man's eyes glowed, a smile wide on his lips. He turned on his heel, striding to the end of the island and staring up at Laboon, hat tipped back as the moon illuminated his face, fire sending shadows across his frame. "So, Laboon, did you have fun with them?" The whale wailed, a high-pitched sound lamenting the loss of his friends. "Tell me: was my grandfather as great a captain as Grandma always told me? The Rumbar pirates loved music, after-all, they couldn't have been that bad, could they?"

"Boy…" Crocus gaped at the young man while the party paused to observe the typically reserved musician. "You're tellin' me…"

"It's nice to meet one of his friends, after all this time! Laboon, my name is Yorki, and I'm the grandson to your captain! I hope I can be as good a friend as he was to you, all those years ago!"

And Laboon wailed, but the tears in his eyes weren't the ones Crocus was accostumed to. He remembered this joy, this hope that the Straw hat brought years ago.

And, in some way, his Captain made good on his promise to see him again. Not exactly in the way he originally wanted, and probably never expected, but his promise was kept.

In form of this boy. In the form of his grandson.

"Whooo~!" Thorir held his mug aloft, wobbling to stand. "Let's hear the whale's song again! Again, Yorki! Stop making him cry!"

* * *

I've had this idea for a really long time and I'm sorry it's short and I'm not updating one of my other stories, but I just needed to write something that made me happy, so here we are.

I do apologize for the shortness~

It's actually my belief that since Yorki set out to be a pirate in his early-to-mid-30s, that was totally long enough for him to get hitched and have a kid (or, not hitched, but still have a kid) and then leave them to go off on his adventure. Add fifty years and that kid (I imagine a daughter who looked up to her dad) to grow up and have a son herself (Yorki Jr here~) and then said child go out to sea in honor of his grandpappy's memory. And he'd have to pass through Reverse Mountain, which meant he'd meet Laboon~!

Ta da~ There's my reasoning.

So! I hoped you enjoyed, thank you so much for reading!

Until the next time, ciao~!


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